Filter clamp lock

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention include a band clamp assembly. The band clamp assembly includes a drive rack and a housing including a receiving hole, a rotatable drive gear, and a locking pawl. The rotatable drive gear is designed to engage the first side of the drive rack and the locking pawl is designed to engage a second side of the drive rack.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/141,677, filed on Sep. 25, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/921,558, filed on Oct. 23, 2015, andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,082,164 on Sep. 25, 2018, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/249,606, filed onSep. 30, 2011, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,194,493 on Nov. 24, 2015,the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Pressure vessels, such as split tank filters or split pump housings,often include two components that can be separated for cleaning,maintenance, filter replacement, etc. Clamps or other types of lockingmembers are used to secure the two components (e.g., a top unit and abottom unit) together during operation of the pressure vessel. If theclamp fails, for example due to improper positioning or insufficientfastening, pressure built up in the pressure vessel can cause thecomponents to separate with substantial force.

Conventional band clamps used to secure a pressure vessel include athreaded rod, which is either threaded through both ends of the bandclamp or secured to one end of the band clamp and threaded through asecond end of the band clamp. One or more nuts is threaded along the rod(e.g., against one or both ends of the band clamp) in order to tightenthe band clamp around the pressure vessel. This type of nut and threadcombination provides an infinite number of “locked” positions. As aresult, a user must estimate the proper amount of tightening required tosufficiently lock the band clamp (i.e., to prevent separation of thepressure vessel during operation). If the band clamp is not tightenedenough, the pressure vessel may not be properly sealed at the junctionbetween the top unit and the bottom unit, resulting in possibleseparation. If the band clamp is tightened too much, portions of theband clamp may undergo additional stresses which can cause the bandclamp to break or otherwise fail, also resulting in possible separation.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the invention provide a band clamp assembly. Theband clamp assembly includes a drive rack and a housing including areceiving hole, a rotatable drive gear, and a locking pawl. The bandclamp is movable to a locking position by advancing the drive rackthrough the receiving hole in the housing. The rotatable drive gear isdesigned to engage the first side of the drive rack and the locking pawlis designed to engage a second side of the drive rack. In some forms, afirst side of the drive rack is designed to engage the rotatable drivegear and the locking pawl is designed to engage a second side of thedrive rack.

Other embodiments of the invention provide a clamp lock. In some forms,the clamp lock secures together a clamp around a pressure vessel. Theclamp lock includes a drive rack having a first side and a second side,and a housing. In some forms, the second side includes at least onelocking notch. The housing includes a receiving hole to receive thedrive rack, a rotatable drive gear to engage the first side of the driverack, and a locking pawl configured to engage the second side of thedrive rack to substantially prevent movement of the drive rack. In someforms, the at least one locking notch is designed to substantiallyprevent lateral movement of the drive rack in at least one direction.

According to a method of the invention, two components of a pressurevessel can be secured with a band clamp. The method includes providing aclamp lock with a drive rack at least partially coupled to a first endof the band clamp, positioning the drive rack through an adaptor coupledto a second end of the band clamp, and positioning the drive rack into areceiving hole of a housing of the clamp lock. The method also includesadvancing the drive rack through the receiving hole until a first notchin the drive rack is engaged by a locking pawl of the housing,positioning the band clamp over the pressure vessel, and furtheradvancing the drive rack through the receiving hole until a second notchin the drive rack is engaged by the locking pawl.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a band clamp assembly and a clamp lockaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of the clamp lock of FIG. 1according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a front cross-sectional view of a clamp lock, according toanother embodiment of the invention, in an installation position.

FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view of the clamp lock of FIG. 3 in anoperation position.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a clamp lock housing according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the clamp lock housing of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the clamp lock housing of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a filter assembly includingthe band clamp assembly and the clamp lock of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited in its application tothe details of construction and the arrangement of components set forthin the following description or illustrated in the following drawings.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orof being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood thatthe phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, theterms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variationsthereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirectmountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected”and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connectionsor couplings.

The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in theart to make and use embodiments of the invention. Various modificationsto the illustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles herein can be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from embodiments of theinvention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not intended to belimited to embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. Thefollowing detailed description is to be read with reference to thefigures, in which like elements in different figures have like referencenumerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depictselected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope ofembodiments of the invention. Skilled artisans will recognize theexamples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall withinthe scope of embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a clamp lock 10, according to one embodiment of theinvention, for use with a band clamp assembly 12. The clamp lock 10 canbe used with the band clamp assembly 12 on pressure vessels, such assplit tank filters and split pump housings, in order to provide the bandclamp assembly 12 with discrete locking positions. The clamp lock 10 canalso be used with similar clamping assemblies and on other products thatrequire two components or halves to be secured together.

As shown in FIG. 1, the band clamp assembly 12 can include a firstcoupling end 14 and a second coupling end 16. Respective portions of theclamp lock 10, such as a housing 18 and/or a drive rack 20 can becoupled to one or both of the first coupling end 14 and the secondcoupling end 16 in order to couple together the first coupling end 14and the second coupling end 16. In some embodiments, the drive rack 20and the housing 18 can be directly coupled to the first coupling end 14and the second coupling end 16, respectively. In other embodiments, thehousing 18 and/or the drive rack 20 can be indirectly coupled to thefirst coupling end 14 and/or the second coupling end 16. In yet otherembodiments, the housing 18 and/or the drive rack 20 can be separable(e.g., freestanding) from one or both of the first coupling end 14 andthe second coupling end 16. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the driverack 20 can be indirectly coupled to the first coupling end 14 via afirst coupling adaptor 22. The drive rack 20 can also be indirectlycoupled and separable from the second coupling end 16 via a secondcoupling adaptor, or sleeve 24 (e.g., by threading the drive rack 20through the sleeve 24). The housing 18 can be separable from the bandclamp assembly 12 and can be coupled to the drive rack 20 in order tosecure the first coupling end 14 and the second coupling end 16 togetherat one or more locking positions, as further described below.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate the clamp lock 10 according to some embodiments ofthe invention. As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the clamp lock 10 can include thehousing 18 and the drive rack 20. The housing 18 can include a drivegear 26 with a drive shaft 28 and teeth 29 at least partially around itscircumference. The housing 18 can also include a locking pawl 30 with apawl release tab 32, a pawl tension spring 34, and a receiving hole 36extending through the housing 18. The drive gear 26 can at leastpartially extend into the receiving hole 36. In addition, at least aportion of the drive shaft 28 can extend out from the housing 18, asshown in FIG. 1, for manual rotation of the drive gear 26 by a user. Insome embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the drive shaft 28 can include astamped portion 37 to facilitate use of a tool (not shown) for manuallyrotating the drive gear 26.

The drive rack 20 can include a coupling arm 42 at one end, as shown inFIGS. 1, 3, and 4, to facilitate coupling the drive rack 20 to the bandclamp assembly 12 (e.g., to the first coupling adaptor 22). The driverack 20 can be inserted through the receiving hole 36 of the housing 18and can include two separate components to facilitate advancing thedrive rack 20 through the receiving hole 36 and locking the drive rack20 in place in the receiving hole 36, respectively. More specifically,the drive rack 20 can include a toothed portion 38 on at least one sideand one or more locking position notches 40 on at least another side.The toothed portion 38 can engage the teeth 29 of the drive gear 26 tofacilitate advancing the drive rack 20 through the receiving hole 36. Asa result, lateral movement of the drive rack 20 through the receivinghole 36 can cause rotation of the drive gear 26. Alternatively, rotationof the drive gear 26 (e.g., manual rotation by the user) can causelateral movement of the drive rack 20. In some embodiments, as shown inFIGS. 1-4, the housing 18 can include tabs 44 or other indentations tofacilitate holding the housing 18 while inserting the drive rack 20and/or rotating the drive shaft 28.

As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the pawl tension spring 34 can substantiallyforce the locking pawl 30 into a position that extends into thereceiving hole 36. When the drive rack 20 is inserted through thereceiving hole 36, the locking pawl 30 can drag against the drive rack20 until the locking pawl 30 engages one of the locking position notches40 in order to substantially “lock” the drive rack 20 in place. Morespecifically, in one embodiment, the locking pawl 30 can be shaped toprevent further lateral movement of the drive rack 20 in one direction(e.g., in order to prevent loosening the band clamp assembly 12), butstill allow further lateral movement of the drive rack 20 in the otherdirection (e.g., in order to allow further tightening of the band clampassembly 12). In order to disengage the locking pawl 30 from the lockingposition notch 40, the pawl release tab 32 can be pressed by a user,causing an upward rotation or movement of the locking pawl 30. As aresult of pressing the release tab 32, the force of the spring 34pressing the locking pawl 30 into the locking position notch 40 can beovercome and the locking pawl 30 can be raised out of the lockingposition notch 40, thus allowing lateral movement of the drive rack 20in either direction.

In other embodiments, the locking pawl 30 can be substantiallypin-shaped, and the locking position notch 40 can be a hole at leastpartially extending through the drive rack 20. The locking positionnotch 40 can receive the pin-shaped locking pawl 30 in order to lock thedrive rack 20 in place. In such embodiments, the pawl release tab 32 canbe pressed to release the locking pawl 30 out of the locking positionhole 40. In addition, in such embodiments, the engagement of thepin-shaped locking pawl 30 in the locking position hole 40 cansubstantially prevent lateral movement of the drive rack 20 in eitherdirection.

In addition, in some embodiments, the locking pawl 30 and the drive gear26 do not necessarily need to extend into the receiving hole 36, but atleast into the lateral movement path of the drive rack 20 after it isreceived into the receiving hole 36. For example, the receiving hole 36may only extend through a portion or portions of the housing 18 in orderto align the drive rack 20 along a lateral movement path. As a result,the locking pawl 30 and the drive gear 26 can extend into a portion ofthe lateral movement path that is easily viewable by the user, insteadof being enclosed in the housing 18.

The locking position notches 40 can provide distinct or discrete lockingpositions for the clamp lock 10. In some embodiments, the clamp lock 10can include two locking position notches 40 providing a first lockingposition (e.g., an installation position) when the drive rack 20 isinserted a first distance into the receiving hole 36, and shown in FIG.3, and a second locking position (e.g., a secured, or operationposition) when the drive rack 20 is inserted a second distance into thereceiving hole 36, as shown in FIG. 4. The first distance and the seconddistance can correlate to a first diameter and a second diameter,respectively, of the band clamp assembly 12. More specifically, placingthe clamp lock 10 in the installation position can force the band clampassembly 12 to have the first diameter, and placing the clamp lock 10 inthe operation position can force the band clamp assembly 12 to have thesecond diameter. For example, the first diameter of the installationposition can be sufficient to permit easier installation of the bandclamp assembly 12 onto a product (e.g., a pressure vessel) by allowingthe user to install the band clamp assembly 12 over the two halves ofthe product without the first coupling end 14 and the second couplingend 16 separating from each other. The second diameter of the operationposition can be of sufficient size to secure the band clamp assembly 12around the product in a locked manner for proper operation of theproduct.

More specifically, the user can assemble the band clamp assembly 12 byguiding the drive rack 20 coupled to the first coupling end 14 (e.g.,via the first coupling adaptor 22 and the coupling arm 42) through thesleeve 24 of the second coupling end 16. The user can then slide thehousing 18 onto the drive rack 20 by inserting the drive rack 20 throughthe receiving hole 36, as shown in FIG. 1. The drive gear 26 inside ofthe housing 18 engages the toothed portion 38 of the drive rack 20 andfurther sliding of the drive rack 20 a first distance can permitengagement of the locking pawl 30 into the first locking position notch40 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). The user can then install the band clampassembly 12 over the two halves of the product without the firstcoupling end 14 and the second coupling end 16 separating from eachother. When the band clamp assembly 12 is correctly positioned over theproduct, the user can continue sliding the drive rack 20 by hand, orusing a tool (not shown) on the drive shaft 28 to rotate the drive gear26. This further sliding of the drive rack 20 or rotation of the drivegear 26 advances the housing 18 along the drive rack 20 until thelocking pawl 30 engages into the second locking position notch 40 (e.g.,at the second distance). This can be considered the secured or operationposition. Once in the operation position, the product can be properlyoperated under pressure and the band clamp assembly 12 can substantiallyprevent separation of the two halves of the product. In someembodiments, the clamp lock 10 can include a single locking positionnotch 40 so that the band clamp assembly 12 is only capable of beinglocked in the operation position.

For removal of the band clamp assembly 12 from the product, the housing18 can be initially slid by hand or the drive gear 26 can be rotated bya tool on the drive shaft 28 in the tightening direction in order toremove some tension from the locking pawl 30. The locking pawl 30 canthen be rotated out of engagement with the locking position notch 40 bythe pawl release tab 32. Once the locking pawl 30 is released from thelocking position notch 40, the housing 18 can be slid outward along thedrive rack 20 to either the installation position or until the housing18 is completely separated from the drive rack 20. The initialtightening requirement to release the locking pawl 30 can act as asafety feature to prevent unintentional unlocking when the pawl releasetab 32 is bumped or accidentally pressed.

FIGS. 5-7 illustrate the housing 18 according to another embodiment ofthe invention. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the housing 18 can include thedrive shaft 28 and the stamped portion 37 to facilitate use of a tool(not shown) for manually rotating the internal drive gear 26. As shownin FIGS. 6 and 7, the back and/or side of the housing 18 can be shapedto fit the profile of the band clamp assembly 12 so that both the driverack 20 and the housing 18 can be supported. This can substantiallyminimize or prevent bending of both components when the clamp lock 10 istightened to the installation position or the operation position. Inaddition, as shown in FIG. 7, an entry region 45 of the receiving hole36 can be designed to ensure proper alignment of the drive rack 20 withthe housing 18 for easier insertion.

As discussed above, the band clamp assembly 12, including the clamp lock10 according to some embodiments, can include a single installationposition and a single operation position (or only the single operationposition). The installation position can facilitate rapid installationof the band clamp assembly 12 onto a product, and the single operationposition can ensure that the band clamp assembly 12 is secured tightlyaround the product without the user having to guess or estimate whetherthe tightening is sufficient. This can prevent the band clamp assembly12 from being too loose or too tight during operation of the product,and thus can also prevent failure of the band clamp assembly 12, whichmay result in forced separation of the two product halves or units.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example split tank pool filter 46 including theband clamp assembly 12 and the clamp lock 10 of some embodiments of theinvention. The split tank filter 46 can include a cover 48, a bottomtank 50, a pressure gauge 52, an air relieve valve 54, a hose 56, acompression spring 58, an air bleed tube assembly 60, a top manifold 62and a bottom manifold 64, filter cartridge elements 66, a back-up ring68, a gasket 70, an o-ring 72, and the band clamp assembly 12. Thebottom tank 50 can include inlet piping 74, outlet piping 76, a bulkheadunion 78, a drain o-ring 80, a drain plug 82, and a baffle 84. The cover48 and the bottom tank 50 can be separable units which, when coupledtogether, substantially enclose the other components of the split tankfilter 46. The back-up ring 68, the gasket 70, and the o-ring 72 canprovide substantial sealing at the junction between the cover 48 and thebottom tank 50. The band clamp assembly 12 (e.g., when in theinstallation position) can be installed over the cover 48 and positionedaround the junction between the cover 48 and the bottom tank 50. Onceinstalled in position, the band clamp assembly 12 can be tightened oradjusted to the operation position, as described above, to allowoperation of the split tank filter 46. The band clamp assembly 12, inthe operation position, can substantially prevent the cover 48 fromexploding away from the bottom tank 50 due to increased pressure insidethe split tank filter 46.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while theinvention has been described above in connection with particularembodiments and examples, the invention is not necessarily so limited,and that numerous other embodiments, examples, uses, modifications anddepartures from the embodiments, examples and uses are intended to beencompassed by the claims attached hereto. The entire disclosure of eachpatent and publication cited herein is incorporated by reference, as ifeach such patent or publication were individually incorporated byreference herein. Various features and advantages of the invention areset forth in the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A band clamp assembly including a bandclamp, the band clamp assembly comprising: a drive rack having a firstside and a second side; and a housing including a receiving hole toreceive the drive rack, a rotatable drive gear, and a locking pawl,wherein the rotatable drive gear is designed to engage the first side ofthe drive rack and the locking pawl is designed to engage a second sideof the drive rack.
 2. The band clamp assembly of claim 1, wherein theband clamp is movable to a locking position by advancing the drive rackthrough the receiving hole in the housing.
 3. The band clamp assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the drive rack further comprises a first lockingposition notch located on the second side of the drive rack to engagethe locking pawl when the locking pawl is in a first position.
 4. Theband clamp assembly of claim 3, wherein engaging the locking pawl whenthe locking pawl is in a first position substantially prevents lateralmovement of the drive rack in at least one direction though thereceiving hole.
 5. The band clamp assembly of claim 3, wherein thehousing further comprises a pawl spring positioned within a pawl springrecess, which forces the locking pawl into engagement with the firstlocking position notch.
 6. The band clamp assembly of claim 5, whereinthe locking pawl comprises a pawl release tab and actuating the pawlrelease tab overcomes a pawl spring force and disengages the lockingpawl from the first locking position notch.
 7. The band clamp assemblyof claim 1, wherein the drive rack further includes a toothed portion onthe first side of the drive rack to engage the rotatable drive gear. 8.The band clamp assembly of claim 3, wherein the drive rack furtherincludes a second locking position notch to engage the locking pawl whenthe locking pawl is in a second position, the second locking positionnotch being positioned laterally away from the first locking positionnotch and located on the second side of the drive rack.
 9. The bandclamp assembly of claim 8, wherein the band clamp has a first diameterwhen the drive rack is positioned for the locking pawl to engage thefirst locking position notch and a second diameter when the drive rackis positioned for the locking pawl to engage the second locking positionnotch.
 10. A clamp lock, comprising: a drive rack having a first sideand a second side; and a housing including a receiving hole to receivethe drive rack, a rotatable drive gear to engage the first side of thedrive rack, and a locking pawl configured to engage the second side ofthe drive rack to substantially prevent movement of the drive rack. 11.The clamp lock of claim 10, wherein the second side of the drive rackincludes at least one locking notch.
 12. The clamp lock of claim 11,wherein the clamp lock secures a band clamp around a vessel, and theband clamp is defined by a first diameter when the locking pawl isengaged with the at least one locking notch.
 13. The clamp lock of claim12, wherein the drive rack includes at least a second locking notch. 14.The clamp lock of claim 13, wherein the clamp lock secures a band clamparound a vessel, and the band clamp is defined by a second diameter whenthe locking pawl engages the second locking notch.
 15. The clamp lock ofclaim 14, wherein the first diameter of the band clamp is sufficient tosecure the band clamp around a vessel and the second diameter of theband clamp is sufficient to allow installation of the band clamp overthe vessel.
 16. The clamp lock of claim 11, wherein the rotatable drivegear includes a drive shaft manually rotatable in order to rotate therotatable drive gear, and teeth positioned around a circumference of therotatable drive gear, the teeth being capable of engaging a toothedportion of the drive rack so that rotation of the rotatable drive gearcauses lateral movement of the drive rack through the receiving hole.17. The clamp lock of claim 11, wherein the locking pawl includes a pawlrelease tab wherein actuating the pawl release tab disengages thelocking pawl from the at least one locking notch.
 18. The clamp lock ofclaim 10, wherein the clamp lock secures a band clamp around a vessel,and the drive rack is coupled to a first end of the band clamp and thehousing is coupled to a second end of the band clamp.
 19. The clamp lockof claim 11, further comprising a pawl tension spring having a first endand a second end.
 20. The clamp lock of claim 19, wherein the first endof the pawl tension spring engages an interior surface of a pawl tensionspring recess within the housing and the second end of the pawl tensionspring engages the locking pawl, and wherein the pawl tension springforces the locking pawl into engagement with the at least one lockingnotch.